Sandbag and sandbag kits

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a unique, elongated sandbag for use as the bottom layer(s) in a sandbag barrier wall and a kit containing such an elongated sandbag as well as a sufficient number of other, shorter, sandbags for forming a barrier wall for an opening, such as a doorway.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The following invention relates to sandbags and other media filled bags and kits containing a group of sandbags, such as those which can be used for forming walls out of granular media for forming walls to block the flow of water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When walls need to be erected on a temporary basis, often such walls are formed by filling bags with sand and then stacking the bags to form the wall. For example, when rivers or other bodies of water are threatening to flood, it is common that bags are filled with sand and levies are built by stacking the sandbags on top of and adjacent to each other. If the sand were placed as a dam without the bags, the sand would form a very broad low barrier and would be subject to the forces associated with the velocity of water acting on the sand. By containing the sand within bags, a wall which is taller and more sturdy so that it can resist the force of water can be erected.

Most sandbags used today have a rectangular form with square corners, two longer opposing sides and two shorter opposing sides. Typically, a sandbag is made by opening one of the shorter opposing sides, filling the bag with sand, and then closing the bag. When the filled bags are laid in a stacked arrangement to form a wall, the walls formed have joints or seams between adjacent bags that can often allow fluid to pass through the wall. Typically, a wall is formed in a brick-lain type fashion by lining up the seams between bags of each successive layer in the approximate middle of individual bags so that the seams do not fall in a vertical line. While this assists in controlling water flow, there are still seams in each layer of bags. This problem may be particularly acute at the base of the formed wall where the force of the mounting water is generally higher and there is always at least some residual water flow, resulting in a high potential for water penetration at the base of the wall.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, sandbag barrier walls are only effective up to a height of five feet. The typical barrier height is three feet high. The number of sandbags needed for a typical, prior art barrier, can be determined by the following general guidelines:

-   -   A one-foot wall needs five bags per foot, a two-foot wall needs         ten bags per foot, a three-foot wall needs twenty-one bags per         foot, a four-foot wall needs thirty-six bags per foot and a         five-foot wall needs fifty-five bags per foot. In order to         determine the total number of standard bags needed to build the         wall, the total bags needed per foot is multiplied by the total         width of the wall. For example, for an opening that is         three-feet wide, a three-foot high wall can typically be built         out of sixty sandbags.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a unique, elongated sandbag for forming the bottom layer or layers of a sandbag wall and to kits of sandbags having a predetermined number of sandbags for forming a barrier for a predetermined opening, such as a doorway, wherein the kit includes at least one elongated sandbag that has a different, but longer, length dimension than the majority of the other sandbags in the kit.

According to an aspect, the present invention is directed to a sandbag wall with a plurality of sandbags having a length and a width, wherein at least one of the plurality of sandbags is an elongated sandbag having a length that is substantially longer than the length of the other sandbags of the plurality of sandbags.

According to another aspect, the present invention is directed to a kit comprising a predetermined number of sandbags for forming a barrier for an opening having a predetermined width, wherein each of the sandbags has a length and a width and wherein the kit comprises at least one elongated sandbag that has a longer length than the length of the majority of the other sandbags in the kit and the length of the at least one elongated sandbag is at least as long as the predetermined width of the opening.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of an elongated sandbag of the present invention and a typically-sized sandbag, both of which may make up part of the sandbag kit disclosed herein; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an elongated sandbag of the present invention laid as the base layer for the building of a fluid barrier wall in front of a doorway.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first row of layered standard sandbags placed on top of the bottom base layer having the elongated sandbag of the present invention and forming a fluid barrier wall in exterior of a doorway.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an exemplary fluid barrier wall of the present invention in front of a garage door.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an exemplary fluid barrier wall of the present invention in front of a house door.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elements of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit thereof. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

The present invention utilizes a unique, elongated sandbag in forming a barrier wall where the elongated sandbag has a length dimension that is longer than the length dimension of the majority of the other sandbags used to build the barrier wall. Typically, only one, two, or three of the elongated sandbags are employed in forming the barrier wall and all the other sandbags used have a more typical, shorter length dimension. Typically, the elongated sandbag(s) will be used to form the bottom layer or the few bottom layers of the barrier wall and the other, shorter sandbags will be stacked in the heretofore known brick-lain type arrangement on top of the elongated sandbag bottom layer(s) to form the wall.

FIG. 1 illustrates an elongated sandbag 10 of the present invention as compared to a more standard sandbag 20, where the elongated sandbag 10 has been placed in an opening 40 to begin forming the base of a sandbag barrier wall. As can be seen, sandbag 10 may have a length 30 that is longer than or equal to the length dimension of the opening 40 to be filled as the bottom sandbag layer. Sandbag 10 has a length that is substantially longer than standard sandbag 20, but in any event will have a length that is at least as long as the width of the opening to be filled. As shown, sandbag 10 is an elongated bag, filled with particulate material, without seams and formed as one continuous bag. The use of such sandbags 10 result in a one or more base layers that do not have gaps for fluid to pass through.

Use of such an elongated sandbag allows the elongated sandbag to be engineered to a length to match a predetermined width of an opening to prevent fluid flow at the base of the sandbag wall. For example, if the barrier wall is to be used for a doorway having a three-foot width, then the elongated sandbag will have a predetermined length dimension of three feet, or slightly more, in order to fill the entire space as the bottom layer(s) of the barrier wall placed in the doorway. In another example, if the doorway is thirty inches wide, then the elongated sandbag(s) utilized for the bottom layer(s) can have a length dimension of thirty inches, thirty-one inches, thirty-two inches, and so forth and so on, up to a length of any dimension, provided it is at least thirty inches or longer. The additional length of the elongated bag can be utilized for ensuring that the entire bottom layer of the wall is sufficient to block fluid flow across the entire width of the opening.

FIG. 2 illustrates the laying of the elongated sandbag base layer according to the present invention. In particular, elongated base layer sandbag 10 is laid first in front of the opening 40. In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the elongated sandbag 10 extends beyond the boundary of the opening 40, so as to create a wider wall at at least the base layer.

In any case, the additional sandbags forming the layers of sandbags that are placed on top of the elongated sandbag-containing bottom layer(s) can be of standard size, typically having a length dimension of twenty-six inches. FIG. 3 illustrates the layering of standard sandbags 20 on top of a single elongated sandbag 10 as the base layer in order to create a fluid barrier wall across opening 40. As can be seen in FIG. 3, one method of laying the layers of sandbags in the rows above the base layer is by overlapping their ends. As explained above, another method is to lay them in a brick-lain arrangement with their width ends adjacent to one another in an alternating fashion.

Another example of a fluid barrier wall constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 with reference to the wall being placed in front of a garage door. Such walls can be used at times of residential flooding to prevent or lessen the seepage of water into one's garage or other building having an overhead door, such as is often found on garages. As shown, the elongated sandbag 10 is utilized as at least the base or ultimate bottom layer and then standard sandbags 20 are stacked thereupon. As shown, each successive row of standard sandbags can be stacked so that the row is equal to our less than the full width of the opening 40. However, the elongated sandbag 10 must be at least as long, and in most cases longer, than the width of the opening 40 to be protected. Shorter rows of standard sandbags 20 may be utilized in order to maintain the strength of the wall where water is not expected to rise above the two bottom layers of sandbags 10 and 20 shown in FIG. 4.

Another example of a fluid barrier wall constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 5 where the wall is placed in front of a house door, such as one's front entrance door. Such walls can be used at times of residential flooding to prevent or lessen the seepage of water into one's house or other building having a typical side opening door. As shown, the elongated sandbag 10 is utilized as at least the base or ultimate bottom layer and then standard sandbags 20 are stacked thereupon. As shown, each successive row of standard sandbags can be stacked so that the row is equal to our less than the full width of the opening 40. However, the elongated sandbag 10 must be at least as long, and in most cases longer, than the width of the opening 40 to be protected. Shorter rows of standard sandbags 20 may be utilized in order to maintain the strength of the wall where water is not expected to rise above the three bottom layers of sandbags 10 and 20 shown in FIG. 5.

Example lengths for the elongated sandbag include five feet, seven feet, and nine feet, although any elongated length may be used, provided the length is longer than that used for standard bags, which may be two feet in length. Five-foot, seven-foot, and nine-foot elongated sandbags may be used as the base layer for openings that are five feet, seven feet and nine feet, respectively. In addition, where it is desired to extend the ends of the elongated, seamless bag past the opening boundaries, five-foot, seven-foot, and nine-foot elongated sandbags may be used as the base layer for openings that are, for example, four feet, six feet, and eight feet wide.

Use of the present elongated sandbags allows for the creation of kits designed to fill openings having predetermined widths for flood control. For example, a kit of sandbags for use in creating a barrier wall approximately three-feet high for an opening having a three-foot width may comprise one or two elongated sandbags having a length of three-feet (or more) and then approximately fifty-five standard-sized sandbags can be placed on the bottom layer(s) to form the wall. It is to be understood, however, that the exact number of bags required is not a limiting factor for this invention but is part of the determination for designing the inventive kits disclosed herein.

In the context of the barrier walls formed utilizing the present invention, more than one elongated bag can be utilized. For example, two, three, four, or five bottom layers of the wall may be formed of individual elongated bags that have a length equal to or greater than the width of the opening to be protected. The only limiting factor to the number of elongated bags that can be utilized is the bulkiness of and the handling required for additional elongated bags. When more than one elongated sandbag is utilized, the lengths of the elongated sandbags may match or one or more sandbags may be longer than the others. For example, for a three-foot opening, one or more elongated sandbags having lengths of more than three feet could be used as the bottom layer(s) and then one or more elongated sandbags having lengths to match the opening width of three feet could then be placed on top of the bottom layer(s). All such arrangements are a matter of design choice, provided that at least the absolute bottom layer sandbag has a length to at least match the entire width of the opening to be blocked.

It is also to be understood that use of the term “sandbags” herein refers to bags used to form fluid flow barrier wall that contain any granular material, regardless of whether the material is sand or another material. For example, in addition to sand, particulates of water-absorbing materials can be utilized in the sandbag, either alone or in combination with sand, to allow for engineered aspects to the sandbag. In one particular embodiment, the particulate material can be entirely a super absorbent polymer that will absorb liquids and may expand to fill any void within the closed sandbag itself. Again, the particular material used in the sandbag is not important to the present invention.

These and other modifications and variations to the present invention may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims. In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the various embodiments may be interchanged in whole or in part. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the invention so further described in such appended claims. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the versions contained therein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sandbag wall comprising a plurality of sandbags having a length and a width, wherein at least one of the plurality of sandbags is an elongated sandbag comprising a length that is substantially longer than the length of the other sandbags of the plurality of sandbags.
 2. The sandbag wall of claim 1, wherein the at least one elongated sandbag is located at the base of the sandbag wall as the bottom layer of sandbags.
 3. The sandbag wall of claim 1, comprising at least two sandbags that are elongated sandbags comprising a length that is substantially longer than the length of the other sandbags of the plurality of sandbags.
 4. The sandbag wall of claim 3, wherein the at least two elongated sandbags have the same length.
 5. The sandbag wall of claim 3, wherein the at least two elongated sandbags are located at the base of the sandbag wall as the bottom two layers of sandbags.
 6. A kit comprising a predetermined number of sandbags for forming a barrier for an opening having a predetermined width, wherein each of the sandbags has a length and a width and wherein the kit comprises at least one elongated sandbag that has a longer length than the length of the majority of the other sandbags in the kit and wherein the length of the at least one elongated sandbag is at least as long as the predetermined width of the opening.
 7. The kit of claim 6, wherein the kit comprises at least two elongated sandbags having longer lengths than the length of the majority of the other sandbags in the kit and wherein the length of the at least two elongated sandbags have lengths at least as long as the predetermined width of the opening.
 8. The kit of claim 7, wherein the at least two elongated sandbags have the same length.
 9. A method of forming a fluid barrier wall with sandbags comprising the steps of: a. providing a plurality of sandbags with each of the sandbags having a length and a width, wherein at least one of the plurality of sandbags is an elongated sandbag that has a longer length than the length of the majority of the other sandbags comprising the plurality of sandbags; b. placing the at least one elongated sandbag as the bottom layer of a wall of sandbags; and c. stacking the remaining sandbags in the plurality of sandbags on top of the at least one elongated sandbag to form a fluid barrier wall.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the remaining sandbags are stacked in more than one row on top of the at least one elongated sandbag when stacking the remaining sandbags to form the fluid barrier wall. 